I have no intimate knowledge with this particular worm, but I know that there was a discussion at one point of distributing the timing of the network, sort of like a subnet based NTP if you will, to prevent this sort of thing.
On more serious note - Look deep into your soul (if you have one)
Well that's up for debate...
and honestly answer the question: why do you not like the idea of Linux being wide spread.
In so far as I enjoy the exclusivity, I spend a significant amount of time helping/training those I know who actually have half a clue. The one thing I dread with Linux making a lot more of a market share is the same thing I dreaded when SBS was introduced - I'm going to end up with 100 more calls in a day going "how do I back this up?" "where is the del command?" "what's bash?".
You don't make money working, you make it doing nothing.
Hell I'm one of the laziest admin's you'll come across south of the equator, if I can click it I'll go that way. But, and this is most important, I can drop down to bash, tcsh, batch or powershell at a moments notice if the job requires. Understanding the system well enough to be able to do this (and I'm no master) is crucial to being a decent admin - something that the insult "Windows Admin" implies the admin has no knowledge of or ability to do. Incidentally this is probably why I (and my company) gets support calls from other IT service companies, because what the basics can't cover, they don't know. The point and click training of these admins is detrimental to their ability beyond "Have you tried turning it off and on again". You've maintained BSD and Linux systems, so all power to you - you don't come under the "windows admin" banner.
Whilst it may hold true, I don't think that's what is causing the adoption of Linux. In fact, I would go so far as to be almost sad that this is what causes the adoption - a mass of IT people not that capable of learning the system are going to crop up and potentially turn FOSS into an almost "Windows Admin" type of system. I'd rather see Linux (or BSD) adoption on a wide scale due to the benefits of the systems, not because they are free.
Just for the record, you can game and use Windows 2008 as a client computer all you want - it's far more stable than Vista in any event. My colleague does exactly that (even runs it on his Mac Book Pro). Someone on/. left this link around ages ago http://www.win2008workstation.com/wordpress/ which details using the software in such a manner. Judging by the hardware specs I would say this is what the machine is built for.
Not only is it plausable, we have a reference in the torrenting world. Look at some of the torrents you're currently downloading, odds are they will have a fairly common named one in there - why? Because these people are giving something away for free, but have a hell of a reputation to keep up, so they put out the quality equipment.
I see no reason why this should not, and can not, apply to the underground. That said, what do they mean "takes off" - there have been people willing to do this for *years*.
You learn something new every day! That said, I just typed "ln -s/bin/rvi ~/vi ; ~/vi" on my CentOS box (only one nearby, had rvi in it already which had previously denied me a shell) and voila, back to my root prompt. ACL's, however, are quite excellent at circumventing the issue, and are to be applauded. 9/10ths of administrators aren't going to want to mess around with them though, trusting to the "power of the sudo" as they do so often. Still, thanks for pointing out rvi - makes that old saying true: "Everytime you see someone else use vi, you learn something new".
You can't get root without proving your competence and signing an agreement that says you will only install apps that have been approved.
Sometime ask for permission to edit a config file for, say, a webserver to save the admin time. In fact, ask for vi permission because that's your favourite editor:
sudo vi/etc/httpd/httpd.conf Password: :sh sh#
Just a random "trick" you can use to get around things like that. To OP:
I manage my 200-odd machines via ssh-keys and push scripts each night. It's not as pretty as a GUI, but I don't need pretty, I need functional. I keep a machine loaded with an accurate configuration of what should be out there, and every time I make a change on the test machine that I am happy with, I migrate it to the live machine, which pushes out the scripts. But I like the parents post theory anyway, despite what this post may have looked like.
It has been a very long time since I started training to be a lawyer (and stopped later on) but I believe that Australian copyright covers both "ideas" and "information". In this light I would think a fact is considered information. My recollection of the law is a little hazy, so anyone feel free to correct me, but I do recall having this very discussion in a lecture once.
What is the experience with GNU/Linux when it is pre-installed on the computer by the manufacturer? Have you ever installed MacOS X on an Apple computer? Does the installation procedure beat installing Ubuntu or GNewsense on a LiveCD?
Yes, and fuck yes. The installation is clean, customisation is done in one screen if you click the options/advanced button* (I forget which), and if memory serves (it probably doesn't by the way), there are a total of 5 clicks on the installation screen, and a further small amount of keystrokes on the initial boot screen (Command Q to get past registration by the way team) to configure user account and internet connection type and you're done. Installation takes about an hour, which at least for me is the same amount of time it takes me to break-in a new XP install, just with less babysitting for stupid things.
If nothing else the installation looks clean, none of the glaring console-textboxes and what not (this coming from a FreeBSD junkie!!!), and that (annoying) welcome screen looks awesome for first time Mac installers.
* If you don't click this button it's damned stupid because you end up installing mass languages you don't need/want. And the interface is 'iffy' enough that even for a qualified Mac tech such as myself, I sometimes (almost) click the button that magically starts the install without hitting said configuration button, which is annoying.
Diversity is a good thing, and we should encourage it, not worry about it.
Great in theory, shit in practice. The amount of "geeks" and/or "nerds" out there who tell me I simply must use wordpress, or I must use Joomla (or Drupal) because it is better - regardless of my own needs - is so spectacularly high that I'm tempted to just say fuck it and write my own, portability be damned. The same applies to the Apple/GNU/Microsoft argument as well. I don't care if one is easier to use than the other, for me, OS X goes to my designers, wordpress to my blogging clients, joomla to my own systems, GNU for my servers, Microsoft for once off uses. The right tool for the right damned job. The second the people writing these "Vs." articles (and threads and what not) get that through their heads, is the second everyone figures out what they really need, not what they're told they should use.
We still have an issue if we lose the equipment in front of our servers, but I don't control that so I can't do much about it and it has never died (touch wood!). My explanation will never be as good as this so have a read of that. Carp still uses a type of "heartbeat" mechanism, though it is actually less than windows broadcast traffic (at least on our network). Pound supports its own redundancy for servers, including load sharing if you want it and fail over.
I seem to recall slashdot operating behind pound systems. It was a good enough plug for me to go and fire it up, been happy with it ever since. Not to say haproxy is better or worse, I've never used it, just another person with great results from pound.
We get upwards of 15,000 hits per hour and just use Carp and Pound to handle our redundancy (Carp captures servers down, pound handles TCP ports going missing) across two machines (both RAID5 with FA RAM). Last time I checked the load averages, the 2.2 G processors were doing ~1.28 for a highly dynamic site.
Actually that would be very close to what I was thinking. Remember that guy from a few weeks (months?) back who created the Mona Lisa ( http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/09/0238252 ). The same concept but in decomposition. If every human profile could be cut down to, say, 50 polygons and we just stored their position and orientation, a relatively simple record could be kept of each person.
Still too many thoughts for me to be getting it right though.
Thoughts: A "fuzzing" of an image, saved down to a couple of SHA hashes and an MD5 would give you a "close match" system which you could then recognise a lot easier.
So, light colour variations in cheeks (for example) are removed (blended out) of the image, hashes are taken, close matches are processed harder for tighter possibilities.
Perhaps hashing isn't the right answer, maybe we could look at pixel-area-colours and match from there? Too many thoughts, too late in the evening.
Warning: If you are a creepy government organisation, or Google, do not read this post.
I'd have given a + mod but I have to make some points
Verification of update paths is difficult to secure if you're going to permit just anyone from doing it (i.e. a "torrent" style update).
A central authentication service, or a distributed-yet-centralised authentication service, is going to be necessary to deal with above step
Microsoft have to update an entire OS and package, "worm guy" only has to update a few programs, and if something breaks he doesn't care
Just a few, but there are a number of issues with distributed, safe, automatic updates. Mirroring out to secondary servers isn't a bad idea (a-la sourceforge or WSUS) but a corporation wants to maintain control over their product and who gets it. The most important one is probably the 3rd point though. Just something to think about before you go rag on an update system.
And anything you use to backup the GPS unit. Or update it. So, for my own experience (TomTom ONE XL), it has to be supported by FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Linux 2.6, Windows XP and Windows Vista.
What would be the point of a flash card if you couldn't take it out or update the unit anyway.
Because saying "welfare bludger" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Well that and "In the UK, Unemployment Benefit has been known by the slang term 'the dole' since WWI. This derives from the 'doling out', i.e. 'handing out' of charitable gifts of food or money. This dates back to at least 1919". But I still maintain that calling them a "welfare bludger" doesn't work as well (though, of course, "slack fucker" works across all countries and creeds when they're on it too long).
Slashdot Mirror
If common sense was a viable guide to life than we wouldn't need science.
Or most warning labels...
I have no intimate knowledge with this particular worm, but I know that there was a discussion at one point of distributing the timing of the network, sort of like a subnet based NTP if you will, to prevent this sort of thing.
On more serious note - Look deep into your soul (if you have one)
Well that's up for debate...
and honestly answer the question: why do you not like the idea of Linux being wide spread.
In so far as I enjoy the exclusivity, I spend a significant amount of time helping/training those I know who actually have half a clue. The one thing I dread with Linux making a lot more of a market share is the same thing I dreaded when SBS was introduced - I'm going to end up with 100 more calls in a day going "how do I back this up?" "where is the del command?" "what's bash?".
You don't make money working, you make it doing nothing.
Hell I'm one of the laziest admin's you'll come across south of the equator, if I can click it I'll go that way. But, and this is most important, I can drop down to bash, tcsh, batch or powershell at a moments notice if the job requires. Understanding the system well enough to be able to do this (and I'm no master) is crucial to being a decent admin - something that the insult "Windows Admin" implies the admin has no knowledge of or ability to do. Incidentally this is probably why I (and my company) gets support calls from other IT service companies, because what the basics can't cover, they don't know. The point and click training of these admins is detrimental to their ability beyond "Have you tried turning it off and on again". You've maintained BSD and Linux systems, so all power to you - you don't come under the "windows admin" banner.
Whilst it may hold true, I don't think that's what is causing the adoption of Linux. In fact, I would go so far as to be almost sad that this is what causes the adoption - a mass of IT people not that capable of learning the system are going to crop up and potentially turn FOSS into an almost "Windows Admin" type of system. I'd rather see Linux (or BSD) adoption on a wide scale due to the benefits of the systems, not because they are free.
Just for the record, you can game and use Windows 2008 as a client computer all you want - it's far more stable than Vista in any event. My colleague does exactly that (even runs it on his Mac Book Pro). Someone on /. left this link around ages ago http://www.win2008workstation.com/wordpress/ which details using the software in such a manner. Judging by the hardware specs I would say this is what the machine is built for.
Not only is it plausable, we have a reference in the torrenting world. Look at some of the torrents you're currently downloading, odds are they will have a fairly common named one in there - why? Because these people are giving something away for free, but have a hell of a reputation to keep up, so they put out the quality equipment.
I see no reason why this should not, and can not, apply to the underground. That said, what do they mean "takes off" - there have been people willing to do this for *years*.
Oblig XKCD: http://xkcd.com/125/
If you're going to the site, chances are this applies.
You learn something new every day! That said, I just typed "ln -s /bin/rvi ~/vi ; ~/vi" on my CentOS box (only one nearby, had rvi in it already which had previously denied me a shell) and voila, back to my root prompt. ACL's, however, are quite excellent at circumventing the issue, and are to be applauded. 9/10ths of administrators aren't going to want to mess around with them though, trusting to the "power of the sudo" as they do so often. Still, thanks for pointing out rvi - makes that old saying true: "Everytime you see someone else use vi, you learn something new".
You can't get root without proving your competence and signing an agreement that says you will only install apps that have been approved.
Sometime ask for permission to edit a config file for, say, a webserver to save the admin time. In fact, ask for vi permission because that's your favourite editor:
sudo vi /etc/httpd/httpd.conf
Password:
:sh
sh#
Just a random "trick" you can use to get around things like that. To OP:
I manage my 200-odd machines via ssh-keys and push scripts each night. It's not as pretty as a GUI, but I don't need pretty, I need functional. I keep a machine loaded with an accurate configuration of what should be out there, and every time I make a change on the test machine that I am happy with, I migrate it to the live machine, which pushes out the scripts. But I like the parents post theory anyway, despite what this post may have looked like.
Isn't the key retrieval still linked in the earlier post (pastebin?) and the key decryptor?
If not, there are are now two random python files on my desktop waiting for analysis.
It has been a very long time since I started training to be a lawyer (and stopped later on) but I believe that Australian copyright covers both "ideas" and "information". In this light I would think a fact is considered information. My recollection of the law is a little hazy, so anyone feel free to correct me, but I do recall having this very discussion in a lecture once.
You're only saying that because you can't find it!
What is the experience with GNU/Linux when it is pre-installed on the computer by the manufacturer? Have you ever installed MacOS X on an Apple computer? Does the installation procedure beat installing Ubuntu or GNewsense on a LiveCD?
Yes, and fuck yes. The installation is clean, customisation is done in one screen if you click the options/advanced button* (I forget which), and if memory serves (it probably doesn't by the way), there are a total of 5 clicks on the installation screen, and a further small amount of keystrokes on the initial boot screen (Command Q to get past registration by the way team) to configure user account and internet connection type and you're done. Installation takes about an hour, which at least for me is the same amount of time it takes me to break-in a new XP install, just with less babysitting for stupid things.
If nothing else the installation looks clean, none of the glaring console-textboxes and what not (this coming from a FreeBSD junkie!!!), and that (annoying) welcome screen looks awesome for first time Mac installers.
* If you don't click this button it's damned stupid because you end up installing mass languages you don't need/want. And the interface is 'iffy' enough that even for a qualified Mac tech such as myself, I sometimes (almost) click the button that magically starts the install without hitting said configuration button, which is annoying.
Diversity is a good thing, and we should encourage it, not worry about it.
Great in theory, shit in practice. The amount of "geeks" and/or "nerds" out there who tell me I simply must use wordpress, or I must use Joomla (or Drupal) because it is better - regardless of my own needs - is so spectacularly high that I'm tempted to just say fuck it and write my own, portability be damned. The same applies to the Apple/GNU/Microsoft argument as well. I don't care if one is easier to use than the other, for me, OS X goes to my designers, wordpress to my blogging clients, joomla to my own systems, GNU for my servers, Microsoft for once off uses. The right tool for the right damned job. The second the people writing these "Vs." articles (and threads and what not) get that through their heads, is the second everyone figures out what they really need, not what they're told they should use.
We still have an issue if we lose the equipment in front of our servers, but I don't control that so I can't do much about it and it has never died (touch wood!). My explanation will never be as good as this so have a read of that. Carp still uses a type of "heartbeat" mechanism, though it is actually less than windows broadcast traffic (at least on our network). Pound supports its own redundancy for servers, including load sharing if you want it and fail over.
I seem to recall slashdot operating behind pound systems. It was a good enough plug for me to go and fire it up, been happy with it ever since. Not to say haproxy is better or worse, I've never used it, just another person with great results from pound.
We get upwards of 15,000 hits per hour and just use Carp and Pound to handle our redundancy (Carp captures servers down, pound handles TCP ports going missing) across two machines (both RAID5 with FA RAM). Last time I checked the load averages, the 2.2 G processors were doing ~1.28 for a highly dynamic site.
Use the LHC to create a black hole to suck all the heat out of the planet and thus prevent climate change!
Actually that would be very close to what I was thinking. Remember that guy from a few weeks (months?) back who created the Mona Lisa ( http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/09/0238252 ). The same concept but in decomposition. If every human profile could be cut down to, say, 50 polygons and we just stored their position and orientation, a relatively simple record could be kept of each person.
Still too many thoughts for me to be getting it right though.
Thoughts: A "fuzzing" of an image, saved down to a couple of SHA hashes and an MD5 would give you a "close match" system which you could then recognise a lot easier.
So, light colour variations in cheeks (for example) are removed (blended out) of the image, hashes are taken, close matches are processed harder for tighter possibilities.
Perhaps hashing isn't the right answer, maybe we could look at pixel-area-colours and match from there? Too many thoughts, too late in the evening.
Warning: If you are a creepy government organisation, or Google, do not read this post.
Remember bitchslap.pl ?
Taco doesn't have to ban/delete a post for it to be hardly ever seen.
Kill them all and let $DEITY sort the dumb fuckers out.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. Never.
Just a few, but there are a number of issues with distributed, safe, automatic updates. Mirroring out to secondary servers isn't a bad idea (a-la sourceforge or WSUS) but a corporation wants to maintain control over their product and who gets it. The most important one is probably the 3rd point though. Just something to think about before you go rag on an update system.
/me kicks OS X server for breaking CPAN installs
And anything you use to backup the GPS unit. Or update it. So, for my own experience (TomTom ONE XL), it has to be supported by FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Linux 2.6, Windows XP and Windows Vista.
What would be the point of a flash card if you couldn't take it out or update the unit anyway.
Because saying "welfare bludger" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Well that and "In the UK, Unemployment Benefit has been known by the slang term 'the dole' since WWI. This derives from the 'doling out', i.e. 'handing out' of charitable gifts of food or money. This dates back to at least 1919". But I still maintain that calling them a "welfare bludger" doesn't work as well (though, of course, "slack fucker" works across all countries and creeds when they're on it too long).
My $0.02 AU